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Archive for the ‘Team History’ Category

The original NYPD Rugby Club was organized by PO John Baner, MTN Pct, in the fall of 1985. We were a loose-knit squad without any official recognition from the Department. The team was made up mostly of Queens cops who had played rugby together at St. John’s University, under the tutelage of “Doc” Stalter, a biology professor. Even before the 1995 merger, we had transit and housing cops playing on the team. We didn’t win too often but we had a great time, nonetheless. I was part of the original team, playing wing, 8-man, and second row.

The team folded after the fall 1985 season, but I resurrected it in the fall of 1986, serving as president, match secretary, and equipment manager; PO Steve Berger served as treasurer. In 1988 I met with PBA officials and we became a PBA-sponsored team, to be known as the PBA Rugby Club—or as we called ourselves, NY’s Finest Rugby Club. The PBA recognition gave us greater status, for as a union-sponsored team, members were able to gets days off to practice/play that we might not otherwise have gotten. I stepped down as team president and match secretary in 1989 to attend grad school and a growing family. The team continued to flourish, and in the spring of 1991 we hosted the Imber Court Rugby Club, a team of London bobbies. They reciprocated by hosting us for a week in England in 1992. It was a great time. I left the team then to go to law school and played for my school team.

In the mid-1990s, the PD team fell on hard times as no one, it seemed, wanted to devote the necessary time and effort to keep it going. The team ended up merging with the Landsdowne Bar (Bronx) team. The last game I played rugby for the PD team was a mid-1990s FDNY v NYPD charity game at Gaelic Park in Riverdale, Bronx. From there the team seemed to disappear, but I am very pleased to see that someone had the interest to get the club up and running again. Congratulations!

Fraternally,

Mike Geary, NYPD 1982-2002

(PO 46 Pct; SGT 30 Pct)

PS: I have attached the back covers of the March/Apr-May/June 1990 issue of SPRING 3100, and the May/June 1991 issue of SPRING 3100 magazine. They were the first stories written about us.

Anyone else who has story’s or photo’s about the teams please post them or send them to NYPDRUGBYFOOTBALLCLUB@YAHOO.COM